Aphomia
Encyclopedia
Aphomia is a genus
of small moths
belonging to the family
Pyralidae
. Some breed in the nests of Anthophila (bee
s and bumblebee
s), where their caterpillar
s are parasitic feeders of wax
, honey
and pollen
.
The former A. pachytera is now in Heteromicta.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of small moths
Moths
Moths may refer to:* Gustav Moths , German rower* The Moths!, an English indie rock band* MOTHS, members of the Memorable Order of Tin Hats...
belonging to the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Pyralidae
Pyralidae
The Pyralidae or snout moths are a family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian superfamily Pyraloidea. In many classifications, the grass moths are included in the Pyralidae as a subfamily, making the combined group one of the largest families in the Lepidoptera...
. Some breed in the nests of Anthophila (bee
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
s and bumblebee
Bumblebee
A bumble bee is any member of the bee genus Bombus, in the family Apidae. There are over 250 known species, existing primarily in the Northern Hemisphere although they are common in New Zealand and in the Australian state of Tasmania.Bumble bees are social insects that are characterised by black...
s), where their caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
s are parasitic feeders of wax
Beeswax
Beeswax is a natural wax produced in the bee hive of honey bees of the genus Apis. It is mainly esters of fatty acids and various long chain alcohols...
, honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
and pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
.
Selected species
- Aphomia barypteraAphomia barypteraAphomia baryptera is a moth of the Pyralidae family. It is known from Australia....
(Lower, 1901) - Aphomia curvicostella (Zerny, 1914)
- Aphomia erumpensAphomia erumpensAphomia erumpens is a species of snout moths in the genus Aphomia. It was described by T.P. Lucas in 1898, and is known from Australia ....
(Lucas, 1898) - Aphomia foedellaAphomia foedellaAphomia foedella is a species of snout moths in the genus Aphomia. It was described by Zeller, in 1839. It is found in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Ukraine....
(Zeller, 1839) - Aphomia fulminalisAphomia fulminalisAphomia fulminalis is a species of snout moths in the genus Aphomia. It was described by Zeller in 1872, and is known from the United States, where it has been recorded from Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Nova Scotia....
- Aphomia fuscolimbella (Ragonot, 1887)
- Aphomia grisea Turati, 1913
- Aphomia homochroaAphomia homochroaAphomia homochroa is a species of snout moths in the genus Aphomia. It was described by Turner in 1905, and is known from Australia ....
(Turner, 1905) - Aphomia murciellaAphomia murciellaAphomia murciella is a species of snout moths in the genus Aphomia. It was described by Zerny in 1914, and is known from Spain.The length of the forewings is 9-10 mm....
(Zerny, 1914) - Aphomia poliocymaAphomia poliocymaAphomia poliocyma is a species of snout moths in the genus Aphomia. It was described by Turner in 1937, and is known from Australia ....
Turner, 1937 - Aphomia sociellaAphomia sociellaThe Bee Moth is a small moth of the family Pyralidae. It is native to Europe, but may be found synanthropically outside its original range....
– Bee Moth - Aphomia terrenellaAphomia terrenellaThe Terrenella Bee Moth is a moth of the Pyralidae family. It is found from Michigan, Ontario, Quebec and New York south to Georgia....
Zeller, 1848 - Aphomia unicolorAphomia unicolorAphomia unicolor is a species of snout moths in the genus Aphomia. It was described by Staudinger, in 1879, and is known from Greece, Spain, Algeria and Asia Minor....
(Staudinger, 1880) - Aphomia zelleriAphomia zelleriAphomia zelleri is a species of snout moths in the genus Aphomia. It was described by Joannis in 1932, and is known from Central Asia and most of Europe.The wingspan is 19-27 mm. Adults are on wing from June to August....
Joannis, 1932
The former A. pachytera is now in Heteromicta.